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Lawmaker questions if system is being gamed after talk of $250k for Baptist Health

News that Jacksonville's Baptist Health receives $250,000 out of a pool of hospital funds is prompting a South Florida Democrat to question whether "someone is evading the system."

The money at question was roughly $15 million in state funds that run through Florida's Low Income Pool Program.

The program does not use state money, but rather is funded by a mix of federal money and intergovernmental transfers from places like counties and hospital taxing districts.

It was created to help hospitals offset the increased costs of uncompensated care. Facilities across the state, including Baptist Health, receive money from the $1 billion program. The hospital, however, is one of just a few organizations that receives general revenue through the LIP program.

“It’s for the children’s heart program at Wolfson Children’s Hospital,” said Hugh Green, CEO of Baptist Medical Center.

The program helps low-income children with congenital heart disease who are either covered by Medicaid or uninsured. During fiscal year 2011, Wolfson Children's Hospital provided $21.4 million in uncompensated care.

Greene said the money used to be in the Department of Health’s budget, but was moved over to the LIP program about five years ago.

“I really don’t know why it was moved,” he said. “It just happened during the appropriations process and we were told about it.”

Because most of the funding comes from intergovernmental transfers, mention during Wednesday's meeting of the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee of the $250,000 in state general revenue flowing to Baptist Health caught the attention of state Rep. Elaine Schwartz, D-Hollywood.

"It is a program where the state does not put any money in," she said. "So it is something that someone wanted that got snuck in the budget."

Staff told her that they did not have a breakdown of all general revenue flowing through the LIP program.

"This is the first I'm hearing about" the $15 million, Schwartz said. "You sense that someone is evading the system."

Greene said the money moved sources, but it's not new.

“I can’t tell you exactly how long, but we’ve been getting it for a long time,” he said.